Like Real People Do
by Vanna Valentine
Summary: Edelgard von Hresvelg is a woman with an unbreakable will, whether it be war or love. After losing the thing she held closest, the petals of the crimson flower have begun to wilt.


"Find her."

For nearly an hour, those were the only words the the Adrestrian Emperor's newly crowned ruler spoke. Stones had torn through her leggings and exposed her knees, bruised from kneeling for far too long. Her usually fair and soft hands were now cut up and bloodied from digging, dirt having made its way under her broken nails and mixed with her blood.

"Your highness." Hubert placed an empathetic hand on his liege's shoulder and squeezed. "Please. You must stop this at once; you are only injuring yourself."

"She has to be around here somewhere, Hubert. I know it. I can feel her. We…we just have to keep looking."

Hubert sighed, though did not allow himself to grow frustrated with Edelgard's ever apparent stubborn nature. "It is dusk. We should return to the encampment for now. In the morning, we'll send out a search party to find the Professor. Nothing good will come out of you alone looking for her."

"Absolutely not!" Edelgard cried as she chucked a large stone to the side. "She could be under any one of these rocks! What if she suffocates or is crushed to death by the time morning comes? I won't allow that to happen!"

"And what if you collapse from exhaustion? No one will be here to help you."

"Then stay here with me, damn it! Help me search for her! The more people we have looking for her, the better."

Closing his eyes and shaking his head, Hubert took a step back away from Edelgard. He silently cursed Byleth for ever coming into their lives. He had known from the start that she would be a bad influence on the Empress to be and Edelgard's behavior now only proved it. "My lady, forgive me, but you're not thinking clearly. I understand how much you care for the Professor, but you must realize how important your own life is in comparison to hers. What good will the both of you dying do? I implore you to take a step back for just a moment and—"

Hubert ceased speaking when he opened his eyes and saw the expression on Edelgard's face. She appeared to be furious, but at the same time pained. While her teeth were bared and her fists balled, her angry eyes were filled with tears.

"I refuse to her abandon her. I won't."

When her retainer stood silently instead of responding, Edelgard wiped away her tears and continued to dig through the rubble. "That damnable Rhea…" she choked out through sniffles. "This is her fault. She's a monster. If it weren't for her, then Byleth would be absolutely f-fine. We would be together and this would all just go away. We should have worked harder to defeat her, Hubert. We should have…"

Hubert calmly knelt down on his knees and let out a heavy breath before beginning to assist Edelgard in moving away the stones that littered the ground. "You care quite a bit about her. Tell me, why is that?"

Edelgard blinked her tears away and forced her breath to steady. Her lip still trembled, but she spoke regardless. "Of course I do. She and I are…we're close. You've been by my side since I was a child, but with Byleth, it's different. She makes me feel…complete." She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, haphazardly tossing rocks to the side as she dug even further down. "Never mind. I don't expect you to understand. It's just that when I'm around her, I feel at ease. Like nothing else in the world matters."

"I see," Hubert responded. Several moments passed, the only sounds being that of the chatter of soldiers in the background, wind blowing rather gently, and rock on rock. Hubert thought about his next words carefully, for he did not wish to further upset his liege. He soon found the five that he concluded were the most direct.

"You love her, don't you?"

Edelgard paused, her hand inches away from taking hold of another stone. Her eyes were wide and her mouth agape, her body completely frozen. She had never considered that before. The word had rarely had even entered her mind—love. There was no way that she could have been in love with her stoic, steadfast professor. Edelgard knew that she would have to take on a partner eventually, but she had always envisioned marrying a dashing prince or a noble heiress, not a rugged mercenary with an enigmatic upbringing. And yet the more she mused on the thought, she more sense it made. Byleth was always there for her. She was always there to lend an ear or a hand or a sword and never failed to brighten Edelgard's mood. They would always greet each other first when the sun would rise and sat next to each other at dinner when the sun would set. The first time Byleth called her "El", Edelgard could feel her heart flutter and was scared that it might burst out of her chest. If what Hubert was suggesting was true, then that would mean that Edelgard could have just potentially lost her one true love.

The tears began to flow again, this time much heavier. The empress slammed her fist into the stones and felt her skin break, but the pain meant nothing to her. No physical harm could compare to the ache she felt in her heart at that moment. She truly did want to keep searching, but all of her energy had been spent. Instead, she simply covered her face with her gloved hands and wept into them, the only comfort she received being Hubert's hand resting on her back.

The Goddess tower was the tallest point in the vicinity of the now abandoned Garreg Mach Monastery. From its top, one could see the entirety of the monastery grounds as well as the forest that stretched even further beyond. The crowned Emperor of the Adrestrian Empire stood at the peak of the aforementioned tower, desperately longing to see someone approaching. Alas, after hours of standing in solitude, she sighed and stretched her arms in preparation to leave.

"No one…" she mumbled, a downtrodden look on her face. "I expected at least Dorothea or Caspar, but…" Interrupting her own thoughts, she closed her eyes and shook her head. "No. There's no use in lamenting."

The hair on the back of Edelgard's neck stood up straight as she heard the sound of a single foot step. She had no weapon on her person at the moment, but was prepared to fight nonetheless. "Halt! Who—"

The instant the emperor turned around, her voice caught in her throat. She had no idea how she managed to miss someone entering the tower, but standing before her in all her glory was the very person she longed to see the most. In five years, she had not changed in the slightest. She possessed the same wide, blue eyes and her long minty green hair still flowed like a waterfall cascading down a cliffside. Her signature blank expression with this time highlighted by a slight smile, something that made Edelgard's heart pound in her chest. She swore she was only seeing things until her former professor spoke.

"Hi, El."

Edelgard blinked and let out a shaky breath before taking a single step forward, her hands trembling. She continued to walk forward and slowly raised her arm, gently lowering her hand upon Byleth's slender shoulder. She gasped upon making contact and stared into Byleth's soft eyes.

"P-Professor…Byleth…" she said in a single breath. "I…how? Where have you been all this time?"

"I was dead, I think," Byleth answered rather bluntly. "I'm not quite sure."

At that moment, Edelgard's shaking ceased abruptly. A million thoughts were racing through her mind not moments ago, but now all her mind could focus on was Byleth's answer. As such, her face began to burn a hot red and she could not help but glare at her.

"Dead?! How could you joke at a time like this? You do realize it's been five years since you disappeared? Do you have any idea how long I spent searching for you?!" Hot tears began to fill her eyes and she tightly gripped Byleth's shoulder, gritting her teeth. "D-do you know how guilty I felt? How broken my heart was?! I th-thought I'd never see you again! I—"

Edelgard's words were cut off by Byleth stepping even closer to her and wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her into a hug. Edelgard's breath stopped—neither her nor Byleth were the physically affectionate type. When they first met, Byleth did not even know what a hug was. And yet, here they were now, five years later standing alone together in the Goddess Tower.

"I'm sorry," Byleth whispered, sending shivers down Edelgard's spine. "I didn't mean to leave. Honestly, I'm still not sure exactly what happened to me, but…I'm here now."

Resting her head on Byleth's shoulder, Edelgard closed her eyes and allowed herself to simply be comforted by the presence of her beloved. "I'm…I'm so happy that you're safe. Welcome back, my teacher."

With smiles on both their faces, the women broke their hug and stood in silence for several moments before Edelgard remembered her composure and cleared her throat, blinking away her tears and standing firm. "Tell me, do you still feel the same way you did all those years ago? Will you continue to fight at my side no matter how many enemies we should amass? I assure you, my resolve will not falter."

Byleth nodded and her smile seemed to grow even wider. "Of course I will, El. I could never abandon my favorite student."

With roses blooming on her cheeks, Edelgard could not help but laugh. At last, her dearest Byleth had returned to her by some miracle and was still determined to help her achieve her goals and fight against the tyranny of the Church of Seiros. After a bleak five years, it seemed that things were finally looking up for her.

However, now that Byleth was back, a new problem presented itself. Edelgard bit her lip as Byleth gestured for her to follow her down the stairs of the Goddess Tower and mused on the thought. She would have to pick up a few romance novels it seemed, for she currently had no experience in the art of love.


End file.
